Page 17 of Pirate's Intent
So, in the end, things went as they went.
How he often wished they had gone differently, though.
“Come, let’s rest.” He stepped away before he gave into temptation and pulled her close.
He tried to keep his eyes off her, but it was damn near impossible when she removed her dress and petticoat. He was no stranger to women, and typically able to control himself, but then they weren’t this woman.
They weren’t Rose.
The outline of her slender body through her shift was clear enough in the candlelight, her curves slight but very much there. Her breasts were on the small side but perky and tempting. How often had he imagined testing their weight in his palm? Spreading her soft thighs and exploring all that had been lost to him for so long?
He nearly groaned, his cock hard and ready for her.
Blast it, her bloody shift was too thin.
He frowned and considered the garment. It was clear her uncle had been neglecting his nieces because her shift was near threadbare, the material far too worn for a woman of her station. When was the last time new clothing was made for her? He glanced at the faded dress she had removed. He had thought it a dress meant for traveling so of little consequence but now wondered.
Not for the first time, he wished he could strangle her uncle. But it seemed fate had taken care of that for him. Oh, but to have run his blade through the man, though. Her parents had died young, and the girls became more of an obligation to their uncle than anything. He was convinced the man only took them in for the sake of appearances. Sadly, it had been a horrid fate. They became as much a whipping board for him as his slaves.
Something Thomas and Luke could do little about.
Not only were they mere lads at the time but sons of the governor, an overly strict man who considered the sisters’ uncle an ally. Between the two, they held considerable power at the time, and scandal would not do. Moreover, how they treated their wards was very much their own business. So except for Thomas and Luke, a blind eye had been turned, and the girls got the switch far too often.
Hannah more than Rose, protecting her little sister when she could.
Leaving the girls to go to war had been particularly difficult because he and Luke knew what they were leaving them with. Yet their country needed them, and their father would have it no other way. They would fight the bloody French come hell or high water.
Thomas continued mulling their uncle over after he blew out the candle, opened the curtains, and settled under the blankets. Because he had despised the man so, he’d given little thought to him over the years. More specifically, what he might be capable of. Which, in retrospect, was foolish. Their uncle was very much the sort who would have felt the girls owed him something for room and board.
Which meant he was the sort who would have seen opportunity in their beauty.
He was about to ask Rose just how much opportunity, but her steady breathing stopped him. Remarkably enough, she had already dozed off. But then that wasn't so surprising considering the rum she had drunk and the ordeal she’d been through. A more traumatic experience by far then crawling into bed with him in nothing more than a shift.
Painfully aroused not to mention concerned about who might be following, he slept very little and woke early. As it happened, Rose had moved closer as the night progressed until she cuddled against him. While he knew it was an instinctual need to be safe, he liked to think it was more.
That she craved his closeness as much as he did hers.
His gaze lingered on her for a stretch before he dragged his eyes away. She was too beautiful, lying there with her golden locks splayed across his pillow. Far too tempting for a man who had finally managed to get his erection under control mere hours before.
So he dressed and made his way on deck, joining Charles at the helm. “Any sign of trouble?”
“Not yet.” His quartermaster squinted south. “But as ye said, best to assume Big Devil is following.”
“Yes, it is.” They had no choice but to fight on land next time, though. “No changes of heart with the crew?”
“No,” Charles confirmed. “We’re with ye to the end, Cap’n.”
He nodded, glad to hear it. “Why not get some rest?”
Charles shook his head. “I got a wink or two overnight.” He offered a cheeky grin. “Lookin’ forward to more fightin’ ahead.”
“Could be a ways off,” he reminded.
“Aye, Cap’n,” Charles said. “Either way, I’ll sleep when I need to.”
That was their way of life, so he knew his quartermaster would be fine.
As it turned out, Rose slept the whole day, night, and most of the next day, not stirring until they were nearly two days out. When she did finally rouse, it was not quietly but with a bloodcurdling scream. He barely drew a breath, fearful for what he would discover when he flung open his cabin door but ultimately saddened by what he found.
